MAIN HIGHWAYS SCHEME.

Shannon News, 21 April 1925, Page 3

MAIN HIGHWAYS SCHEME.

COUNTY WORK TO PROCEED AT ONCE.

CONTRACT SYSTEM ADVOCATED

The general desire felt throughout, the County, to. see file Main Higunvays. sciieme put into operation, so as. to overcome the constantly recurring cost oi road maintenance, was given expression to at Saturday’s meeting oi the Hqrowhenuu County Council, wnen it was decided that file initial work of formation should be proceeded with as soon as possible. The Engineer (Mr W, N, Andprsfiin) reported us follows; MAIN HIGHWAYS.

The greater part of my time during the period hag been taken up witn detail work In connection with Uie Main Highways scheme. During me week following last meeting I leit u, Auckland for the purpose oi making an inspection of the latest road making machinery in the North Islaiiu and the different methods of working same. Aitliough the tune spent away was rather' short, 1 visited most ui the Counties and Boroughs in the Auckland and Taranaki Provinces, where modern reading is being carried out, and obtained a good deal of useful miormation regarding the working or a.Jiierent plants and file memoas use a m faying down different classes in modern roads, such as concrete, bitumen and tar roads. Since returning I am quite convinced that file scheme adopted by this Council is the .rigirt one. S V.

Before dealing further with my report, I would, like to impress uptOn the Council the advisability of an immediate start being made with any preliminary work such as widening and strengthening oi certain sections oi the main road, fiiat is to say, if it is the intention of the Council to start paving in the spring qf this year (say the beginning of October). To do tins it will be necessary to order without uclay a quantity of machinery, a hsi of which is attached, and also 'to. make arrangements, for'file housing of same, in. connection with file actual work lor the current year, see my. report oi file 14th February, 1925. The widem ing and strengthening wLrk 'referred io in the above report I would like to see put in band at once.

fie housing uf machinery and central depot; It is my intentiun to make the central depot of file Council's pruperty on the main road, Weraroa Settlement, and I propose making a sum. with fire levelling of file sue for buildings immediately. With regard to the expenditure for the current year (£36,000) the requirements morfiiily will be as under: May, 1925, £2000; June, £2300; .Juiy,\ £2300; August., £2500; September, £4700; October, £4700; November, £4700; December, £4700; January, 1926, £2700; Fenruary, £2700; Marcn, £2700; total, £36,000. I would therefore recommend that the necessary machinery (as per attached fist) be ordered at tunce and fiiat necessary buildings be elected iu. depot at Weraroa pit,and that a start be made with the preliminary work such as widening, strengthening, etc., at an early date. The survey of the section between Waikanae and Te Horo is well.-in hand but it wifi be necessary to push on with the plan work. It will therefore be necessary tq appoint a temporary draughtsman ap a.s to get ahead witn this work.

LIST OF MACHINERY. Lorries, one 4-ton, tw.o 3-ton; crusher and chip machine with screens, elevators and motors complete (New Zealand). Crusher with elevator and screen complete; road roller, 14-ton; road roller, 8-ton (imported). in moving the adoption of the Engineer’s report, the chairman said that it was important that the formation work be proceeded with immediately, so as to- take advantage of what good weather remained. The appointment (of a temporary draughtsman was also necessary as a man could not be out on the roads and drafting plans at file same time. Another matter was the necessity ot providing housing for machinery, li They were going 'to have a fleet of lorries it was necessary tio have some place to house them. It would also he necessary to have a workshop where breakdowns might be attended to. The more lie saw of tire manner in, which the main roads qf the district were breaking down under the extra Easter holiday traffic, and Pie little rain which had fallen, convinced. him that they were adopting the only means of holding them under the great increase in heavy lorry traffic.- Six weeks ago the roaus were in fair condition; they were now. going to pieces not by degrees, hut in huge chunks. Cr. Harkness said he was very pleased to see that definite steps were being taken to proceed with the work of the Main Highways. The matter of getting the machinery should be attended to. immediately., The foundation should he put dowii at once, so that they might settle. The ioindation was. the important feature of a road and it Was necessary that these should be put down early or they would "have a sealed surface and an uneven one.-

In answer to Cr. Jensen, the chairman s aid that arrangements were being made for the housing of men on the work. It was not to be expected that men working in Waikanae should be shifted from Levin every day. Cr. Catley advocated that the work should be done as much as possible under the contract system, which he contended worked in the best interests of the workmen and the employer. He would like to see a good 1 stretch of the plans for formation I prepared, and submitted for tender. They would then see how the contract system compared with the Engineer's estimate. Cr. Broadbelt said that provided the i organisation was good, the County i should be able' to control men as well !as the contractor. There should be no leaving the job at 4 p.m. as had been done in the past. Cr. Ryder said the whole thing depended on the boss. The Engineer said that where work

was - being done by gangs, as here, it would be easier to control the men than it was at present, where they were scattered. The report was adopted.